Who is Joey Swoll on TikTok? Viral coach combats “toxic” fitness culture

Fitness influencer Joey Swoll has amassed a huge following online for his content on gym etiquette, bodybuilding, and nutrition. Here’s everything to know.

Joseph Sergo, better known as Joey Swoll online, has made a name for himself as the self-described “CEO of gym positivity.”

With over 7.7 million followers on TikTok and 4.3 million on Instagram, the 5’6″ gym enthusiast and nutritional coach frequently calls out other creators on gym etiquette and shares workout videos.

But who exactly is Joey and how did he come to amass the following he has today? Here is everything to know.

How did Joey Swoll get into bodybuilding?

Born in 1983, Joey turned 40 this year on January 11. He first got into bodybuilding after attending Illinois Wesleyan College to play football as a wide receiver.

While there, Joey faced bullying due to being “very small” from older and bigger players on the team, inspiring him to start focusing on fitness and lifting weights.

In an interview with Simply Shredded, he explained, “I was furious inside. I didn’t wanna go home because I didn’t wanna seem like a failure to my mom. So second semester I started living in the weight room and cafeteria.”

Joey quickly “fell in love” with the sport after receiving compliments for his physique and finding it helped deal with internal “stress and anger.”

“No matter how upset, depressed, sad, or just plain stressed out I was, I always left the weight room feeling free. I left it all in there. Pushing my body to its limits was a way for me to balance myself physically, emotionally, and mentally.”

Joey Swoll blows up on TikTok

On January 7, 2022, Joey gained a massive following on TikTok after coming to the defense of a man mocked in the gym while doing dumbbell drag curls. Joey responded to the original poster by explaining the exercise before offering some words of wisdom at the end of his video.

“The fact that people at the gym take videos of other people to try to make fun of them, blows my mind. Be better than that,” Joey said.

His TikTok was positively received, garnering more than over 20 million views and three million likes. Having discovered his niche in gym etiquette, Joey went on to amass seven million followers that year.

With the aim of ‘changing gym culture,’ the fitness enthusiast has continued to frequently call out creators who film others while working out in order to shame them. And his influence on the community is evident, shown by Joey having had multiple people’s gym memberships revoked.

Joey Swoll personal life: Birthday, relationship status, and more

Born and raised in Chicago, Joey now lives “in or near Los Angeles” according to The Barbell. He celebrated his 40th birthday earlier this year on January 11 and was born in 1983.

He has been open about his struggles with opioid addiction, sharing via Instagram on October 11, 2023, that he had been clean for three years; “I was addicted to opioids, suicidal, completely alone, and without purpose. Today I’m clean, happy, cherishing every single day I wake up, and I feel amazing.”

Joey was previously linked with fellow fitness influencer, coach, and Los Angeles firefighter Crystal Reneau. However, posts he made dedicated to Reneau have since been deleted, leaving the pair’s current relationship status unknown.

Most recently, Joey shared he had a health scare after a “routine” heart surgery supposed to go for “30-45 minutes” left the influencer under the knife for six hours. This isn’t the first surgery Joey has had, sharing on Instagram that he was “finishing off 2023” by having an umbilical hernia fixed.